anyone have both a WSM 22 and a BGE ?

danhoo

Does anyone have both a WSM 22 and a large BGE ?

If so, what cooks do you do on the WSM 22 ?

I picked up a used WSM 22 a couple of weeks ago because I've always wanted to try one.

I'm planning to do six full slabs of ribs for super bowl sunday and my BGE will be cooking pork shoulder.

So if anyone has both, what do they find works better on the WSM ?

Really, I'm not trying to be a troll or start a flame war about smokers. I'm lucky to be working from home and am experimenting with different cookers, and the used WSM was a really good price.

Tnx

iudex

I upgraded from a Weber Kettle to a LBGE twe years ago. I already had a WSM 18.5 at that point and have used it only once since I bought the egg.

The reason I am keeping it, is because it really is the better smoker of the two and offers a whole lot of real estate to cook on.

The downside for the WSM, to me, is the insane clean up. This is where the egg shines and wins (again, for me), as it is truly low in upkeep and maintenance.

I bought a second large egg to enlarge both my cooking options and space so I would not 'neede' the WSM anymore. I do plan on keeping it for cooking away from home, it is a great machine.

Hope this has some insights; it is difficult owning using them both due to the rase of use of the egg.

danhoo

I guess what I'm asking is, if you were going to cook _____________, and had a choice of the Large BGE or the WSM 22, what would you cook on the WSM?

I'm really in experimenting mode right now.

I also have a 22 inch one touch kettle. It just didn't fit in my sig.

I use all my grills for different reasons and they all have strengths and weaknesses. My main criticism of the large BGE is the 18 inch grate when I'm cooking ribs, even with a PS woo extender I can cook four slabs, but I have to trim the upper slabs so they fit, and the upper rack cooks faster than the lower.

I use my kettle for vortex chicken because I can fit more chicken on it than on the egg, and its easy.

My older gasser is a great rotisserie grill for a pair of spun yard birds.

My newer gasser is my outdoor summer oven and for quick burger cooks when I'm in a hurry and don't want to light coal. I use the side burner all the time to light chimneys of lump for the BGE.

I've kind of given up on the pellet. It cooks OK, but the heat is uneven left to right so If its a big cook like four slabs of ribs I have to move them around every 45 mins or so so they cook evenly. I'll likely be finding a new home for the pellet this spring.

Anyway, lots of words from me. 

What would you-all cook on the WSM 22 vs the large BGE? 

6baluts

I do not have my WSM anymore. I passed it along to a family member. I have a drum smoker (Hunsaker) so have not gone too far away from the WSM.
You might want to sniff around over on the Hunsaker website, they offer some great accessory options ( read hanging and diffuser options) for the WSM. My experience with all the Hunsaker products and accesories are they quality built and great people to work with.

iudex

I see what you mean.

The WSM shines for ribs and really big chunks of meat like pork butt imo.

It stays on temperature much better over the course of hours compared to my egg. I can actually sleep a few hours and get back with the temp the same as when I left. The egg always drops or rises (although I am sure that I will get that under control at some point as well).

I would like to hear from the brisket lovers which of the two they prefer. I would say the moist retention of the egg should be benificial for brisket, but have no actual cooks to base this on. 

fishlessman

i think i could find a way to cook it all on the egg at once, finish the ribs after the butts are in the cooler. had a knock off wsm, really a pain to use this time of year for me

this was two butts and two 8 pound flats

danhoo

fishlessman said:

i think i could find a way to cook it all on the egg at once, finish the ribs after the butts are in the cooler. had a knock off wsm, really a pain to use this time of year for me

this was two butts and two 8 pound flats

Is that a large? or an XL ?

fishlessman

danhoo said:

fishlessman said:

i think i could find a way to cook it all on the egg at once, finish the ribs after the butts are in the cooler. had a knock off wsm, really a pain to use this time of year for me

this was two butts and two 8 pound flats

Is that a large? or an XL ?

thats a large and i think it was 34 pounds of butt and brisket. if i did it now with the adjustable rig the bottom grate would sit lower creating more space. not a fan with all that cold meat going on at once but ribs would go on late in the cook when things are already warmed up.

stevez

I've used both the WSM and the BGE a lot and I think everything is easier on the BGE now.  Had a learning curve for me in terms of controlling the temp.  I found the WSM easier to control initially.  Had two WSM's and gave both away to friends just entering the smoking world.  They love them. 

Foghorn

I have a !8.5" WSM and before that (and before I had my BGE) I had a 20" ProQ that is a similar design.  There's not much that I think goes better on a bullet smoker than on the BGE.  The food off them tastes smokier (usually in a good way) on most cooks if that is your goal.  I mostly like them for camping because they are light and portable.  If you take the water pan out and do chicken (very) raised and direct they work very well.  But I haven't found myself thinking "I'll use my bullet smoker for ______ because it puts out a better product than the BGE." or "I'll use my bullet smoker for _____ because it is easier to cook this meal on the bullet smoker than the BGE."...

danhoo

Thanks foghorn. 

Ozzie_Isaac

I have a WSM 18.5" along with the eggs.  I like corn on the cobb off the WSM.  I also occasionally like ribs or pork butt.  I am able to get a better product off the egg, but sometimes I really like the flavor of meat smoked with KBB.

danhoo

I'm going to cook a slab of baby back and slab of St. Louis on the BGE, and a slab of each on the WSM and compare.

I wanted to experiment and stupor bowl sunday seems like a great time to do it.

Foghorn

danhoo said:

I'm going to cook a slab of baby back and slab of St. Louis on the BGE, and a slab of each on the WSM and compare.

I wanted to experiment and stupor bowl sunday seems like a great time to do it.

Excellent.  Looking forward to it.

cookingdude555

I have a few 18.5 WSMs and one 22.5 WSM.  I use my WSM22 for big cooks.  While the eggs are great, I love the way food cooks on the WSM.  I hang a lot of meat in the WSMs, chicken is hard to beat using any other method.  I just take out the racks and water pan, put fully lit charcoal on the bottom, hang the 1/2 birds on a hanging rack, and then leave the vents open.  Its stupid easy and amazing.

bluebird66

I have the 18.5 WSM.

danhoo

WSM gets KBB with 3 chunks of apple and a chunk of hickory.

BGE gets JD XL with 3 chunks of apple and a chunk of hickory. 

danhoo

Some rub, and some ribs. A slab of baby back and a slab of St Louis for each. 

danhoo

I didn't get a Pic of the slabs on the BGE at the 4.5 hour mark. 

They are now wrapped. 

danhoo

Anyone want to guess which one won? 

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

I’ll guess the ones on the left came off the egg and were the favorite. 

Foghorn

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

I’ll guess the ones on the left came off the egg and were the favorite. 

I'm going to concur with that.  The bones look to protrude a little more on the ribs on the left.   The ribs on the right might be slightly undercooked.  Obviously, it is hard to tell based on a picture.  

Either way, I'd eat any of those.

danhoo

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

I’ll guess the ones on the left came off the egg and were the favorite. 

correct. 

danhoo

Foghorn said:

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

I’ll guess the ones on the left came off the egg and were the favorite. 

I'm going to concur with that.  The bones look to protrude a little more on the ribs on the left.   The ribs on the right might be slightly undercooked.  Obviously, it is hard to tell based on a picture.  

Either way, I'd eat any of those.

The BGE ribs were more moist.

WSM was a little dryer, had a different smoke flavor likely from the KBB. 

Both were good. 

Larger cooks will be easier on the wsm, but I may flip this. I really don't need it. 

littlerascal56

I sold my WSM and bought a Bronco Oklahoma Joes drum for $335.  It also does multiple racks (6) of hanging ribs, or chickens.  With much better smoke profile than my EGGS did.  It’s easy to clean and burns briquettes or lump with wood chunks. And much easier to keep a steady temperature than my egg.  Almost like cheating!

alaskanassasin

littlerascal56 said:

I sold my WSM and bought a Bronco Oklahoma Joes drum for $335.  It also does multiple racks (6) of hanging ribs, or chickens.  With much better smoke profile than my EGGS did.  It’s easy to clean and burns briquettes or lump with wood chunks. And much easier to keep a steady temperature than my egg.  Almost like cheating!

 You had trouble holding temps in your egg?

Foghorn

Yeah, I've also been puzzled by comments about how it is easier to control temperature in a thin-walled bullet smoker than it is on a BGE.  That has not been my experience, except to recognize in many of them there is a large water pan that acts as a heat sink and makes it hard (as long as it is full of water) to get much above 225-250 degrees.  But that's like saying "I find it easier to control the speed of my Yugo than my Ferrari.  I just put my foot to the floor in the Yugo and sits perfectly steady at 97 mph.  The Ferrari is all over the place..."

fishlessman

the only metal smokers ive ever used that are set it and forget it are propane powered. how do you fish all day running on briquettes and come home 10 hours later to check on temps.

pgprescott

I love the wsm 22. It’s just not nearly as user friendly with respect to cleanup. The water pan and ash removal isn’t a huge deal but compared to the egg or even a pellet cooker it’s a pain. It’s funny how spoiled we get with the egg. Virtually maintenance free. I’ve read plenty of reports of the wsm being a bit finicky to control but that has not been my experience. Used the minion method and it is alway very predictable and steady. 

6baluts

You can ditch the WSM water pan and go with a Hunsaker diffuser. I have one of the Hunsaker drums and it is as easy to control temps on that as any of my BGE's or Primo.
I passed my WSM along to a family member about 5 yrs ago. After I got the Hunsaker and seen the ease of use and results, I bought my family member the diffuser and hangar for the WSM. According to HIM not me it has made his WSM experience better overall too include cleaning and product. He has always been a darn good cook so I think he may be blowing some smoke on that claim.

Hansm

Friend of mine has a Smokey Joe, it Rocks !!!